pho to speak: adam marcinek (part 2)

part 2: education

1/ can you talk about your education a little bit?
I went to the New England School of Photography, graduated 5 years ago with a concentration in black and white. I had a blast at NESoP and actually am still involved with the school today as a TA for the 2nd year black and white program. It was and is still a big part of my photographic life. No MFA right now...ultimately I don’t have any plans to head back to school, but I’m not ruling it out completely in the future.

2/ why do you feel that you do not want to pursue an mfa?
I try and way the pros and cons, but usually end up with the thought that if I just keep plugging away at my own work, that an MFA wouldn’t help me that much. I may be totally wrong in that assumption, but so far I don’t see it holding me back any. The most attractive part of getting into that situation again is I know I would be pushed to make work, and a lot of it! So that is always something that I think about, so I wouldn’t say that I don’t WANT to get back into school, I'm either just not ready or the time isn’t right.

3/ is this something you've spent a lot of time waffling/obsessing about (like i obviously do), or was it a relatively easy decision for you?
No I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about it. When I got out of school, I was very happy to get going on my own work and not be caught up in the school environment. I do miss school, the constant pushing and peer support, but it's just not in my sights right now as something I want to continue with. Being that I don’t have a BA, the idea of getting back into that program and then moving on to an MFA program, scares me a bit! It's such a time commitment, not to mention the expense of it all. Again, I don’t rule it out completely as the idea of some type of teaching role in the future has crossed my mind, just not right now.


adam is a frequent contributor to the exposure project. he recently launched his blog, adam marcinek photography.